Concrete Angel
by Surgery-Girl
Summary: A tragic past. A painful secret. A dangerous home. And a deadly future. Meredith Grey knew nothing more than this by the time she moved to New York City. MerMark and a big MerAlex friendship.
1. George Washington High School

_**Summery: A tragic past. A painful secret. A dangerous home. And a deadly future. Meredith Grey knew nothing more than this by the time she moved to New York City. MerMark, Hints of MerDer, and a big MerAlex friendship… WARNING: Does contain child abuse and violence. **_

_**Disclaimer: Don't own Grey's.**_

_**------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**_

Her mother's magazines lined her bookshelves organized clearly by the years that each was published from 1985 to 2001. The final one tucked out of sight. Her room was barely decorated with a bed, a bookshelf, a desk, a computer, a dresser, and a couple of shelves.

She lied on the bed staring at the ceiling. After having to pick up and moved across country in February of her sophomore year in high school, she had nothing to do as she stared at the ceiling. The TV played loudly downstairs even though her father had probably fallen asleep. It was nearly midnight and even though she was starting at her new school the following day, she made no move towards sleep.

Two years ago, their lives fell apart with no warning until it was too late. She remembered the day vividly and it often haunted her dreams and thoughts. Everything changed.

She sat up and looked at the magazines that lined the bookshelf not far enough from her bed. It didn't take long for her mother to get into the spotlight. Even as a med student, doctors knew her name. Before she was a doctor, she was praised and respected among the medical community after she linked two diseases together. As an intern, she completed an open-heart surgery in a broken elevator by a flashlight. By the time she was moving on to be a resident, she was married with a newborn baby and doing amazing surgeries. It was 1992, when Ellis Grey became an attending with a four year old on her hip and a husband holding her hand.

At a young age, Meredith learned of her mother's successes and admired her for it. She watched as her mother stood in the medical limelight for years and years until that day not long after she turned thirteen.

"Meredith!" He yelled from the bottom of the stairs. "Get your ass up."

She cringed at the sound of his slurred words. His last drink must have come at nearly three in the morning. Looking at the clock, she sighed. Today was her first day at George Washington High School.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The cold, February air rolled into the house as she pulled the door open. She looked over her shoulder at her passed out father on the couch. An empty beer bottle on the floor and a half empty vodka bottle sat on the side table, not far out of his reach. It was only about seven in the morning and the light was still dim out as she pulled the door shut behind her. She headed down the concrete steps looking down the long residential street. Cars were parked along the sides of the streets as people went about their busy lives.

She pulled her jacket closer to her body as she walked to the intersection. There were a few teenagers standing in a group laughing in talking waiting for the signal for them to go. She stood to the side with her head low hugging her jacket closer in hope for some security. The walk signal flashed and the group headed across. She followed close behind still saying nothing to any of them nor having much of an interest to.

The rest of the walk to school they stayed a good ways away from her still talking the whole way. There were two girls and three boys in the group, but she didn't pay too much attention to remember what they looked like or who they were. They continued to walk into the school, but she stopped short in front of the staircase. People pushed past her, but she stood frozen. The warning bell rang and she still had to pick up her schedule and locker number. Slowly, she trudged up the stairs. Her mind reeled with different thoughts as she put her hand on the door. She looked up at the sign the hung above the door. 'George Washington High School.' She pulled the door open and took a deep breath. She was closing in a chapter of her life; a happy chapter of her life that she would never get back. One where she had a family and a place to call home. One that ended as she walked through the doors of her new school in the new state over two thousand miles away from her old life.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Hi, can I help you?" The woman behind the desk asked.

"Yeah, I'm a new student."

"Oh, yes, Meredith Grey?"

"Yes." Meredith nodded.

"Are you okay, dear?" She asked once she noticed the young girl fidgeting with her jacket.

"Just a little nervous."

The woman broke into a full smile. "You have nothing to worry about. So this is your locker number and schedule. If you need anything, let me know."

"Thank you." Meredith flashed a brief smile before turning and walking out. Her locker was upstairs where the rest of the sophomores' lockers were. It didn't take her long to find it or get it open. After putting a few things in, she grabbed her bag and headed off to her first class. The late bell rang as she searched for a room. By the time she found it, it was five minutes past the bell. She stood in front of the door gripping the 'new student' note in her hand nervously playing with the hem of her shirt. Taking a deep breath, she grabbed the handle and walked in. The teacher, who was calling roll, stopped and looked up. Without making eye contact with anyone, she walked to the desk and handed him the note.

"Meredith Grey?" He asked. She nodded. "Have a seat over there." He pointed across the room at the vacant seat beside a blonde haired girl. Keeping her head low, she walked over and sat down. Even though she could feel everyone's eyes on her, she didn't look at them. "Alright…" The teacher paced the room. "What is the answer to the equation on the board… Miss. Grey?"

Meredith looked at the board. It was an algebraic equation. After jotting a few things down on a scrap sheet of paper, she looked at the teacher.

"X equals five." She answered in an unsure voice.

"Are you confident?" He asked stopping right in front of her desk causing her to look directly up at her. She nodded holding her breath hoping she didn't just embarrass herself on the first day. "Very good, Miss. Grey, but you must be more confident in your answer."

She nodded looking down at the piece of paper as he walked away.


	2. Meeting New Friends

The bell rang and she pushed herself up from seat gathering her notes and stuffed them into her binder. Mr. Wheeler, the teacher, came up smiling.

"Well, Miss. Grey, you seem to be doing well so far in this class." He said.

"Thank you, sir." She said quietly.

"Glad to have you aboard." Mr. Wheeler said patting her arm causing her to wince light. The gesture didn't go unnoticed causing him to withdrawal his arm. "Well, I'll, ah see you Wednesday."

"Yes, sir." She nodded walking towards the door. She pushed past the people keeping her head low. Opening her locker, she stuffed all her books into her locker. Looking down at her wrist, she pulled her shirt down over her hand more trying to find some comfort but feeling so out of place in the school. Pushing her locker shut, she stood up and turned around. A group of cheerleaders walked by wearing the top to the uniform that had 'GWHS' standing for the school name written in the school colors. A couple wore the shirts over sweatpants; others just wore the matching sweatpants. She watched as two talking girl walked by dragging their boyfriends behind them. She sighed kicking the locker shut of the way before walking down the hall.

She watched as people walked down the hall laughing and talking among themselves. A couple here or there would be holding hands or making out. And there she was walking down the hall with her head lower and her books hugged close to her body. She felt like such an outcast.

"_Smile, Mer." Her best friend Laura said shoving a camera in her face. Meredith laughed smiling widely with her arms locked around her boyfriend's neck. "Aw." Laura cooed as she looked at the picture she had just taken. "You guys are such a cute couple. Who knew my twin brother and best friend would be the number one couple in the whole middle school?" _

_Meredith giggled leaning back popping her leg up as she leaned back. "Thanks, Laura."_

_Her boyfriend, Tommy, kissed her cheek. _

_Swaying back and forth, she leaned into his embrace. "Can you believe we're going to high school next year?" She said talking into his chest. _

"_Pretty hard to believe." He laughed. "At least we'll be in the same school."_

_She smiled up at him. "Yeah… Middle school went by quick."_

'_Maybe just a little too quick.'_ She thought to herself as she looked up at the room number. Letting out a sigh, she walked in. Looking around, she found a short teacher talking to two other students about a Shakespeare project from what she could tell.

"Thank you, Ms. Slater." The girl said smiling widely before skipping away.

"Ah, Ms. Slater?" Meredith said in an uncertain voice.

"Yes." She said in a high, preppy voice. "Oh, you must be Meredith Grey." She clapped her hands together. "We are so glad to have you. Please, please take a seat and I will get what you need."

"Thank you." She muttered putting her things down.

Ms. Slater walked away and came back with a packet of paper and a book. "Alright, Meredith. We're reading Romeo and Juliet and this is that packet that needs to be completed by the end of our Shakespeare unit, but we can adjust the due date if we need to."

"Thank you, Ms. Slater."

"Alright, let me know if you need anything, okay?" Meredith nodded. "Oh, and Christina Yang will be sitting beside you. I hope that it okay with you."

"Sure." She shrugged not knowing who Christina Yang was anyway. She pulled out her binder and stuffed the papers into the side pocket. Looking up, she surveyed the room. People flooded through the door and sitting down in the seat. The late bell rung as an Asian girl sat down in the seat beside her. She had thick, curly black hair.

Giving a sideward glance at the new girl beside her, Christina Yang unloaded her books onto her desk.

"You're the new girl?" Christina said raising an eyebrow as she settled back in the chair.

"You're Christina Yang?" Meredith said back looking at her. Christina raised an eye brow. "Meredith Grey." She sighed.

"Yeah I'm Christina." Meredith looked up at the clock then at the teacher. "She doesn't start right away. We have twenty minutes to 'express ourselves.'"

Meredith made an odd face, but shrugged. "One of those teachers."

Christina shrugged and sighed. She wasn't exactly one of those people to be on the meet and greet committee, but she had nothing better to do. "Where are you from?"

"Seattle, you?"

"Beverly Hills."

"How long have you lived here?"

"Eight years. How long have you been here?"

"Two weeks." She looked around. "School in Seattle was so different."

"It's you're first day. You might like it here."

Meredith sighed. _'Yeah, right.' _"Yeah, maybe."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lunch rolled around after the third period of the day. She and Christina walked down the hall. Christina had invited her to come sit with her and her friends. With no where else to go, she accepted the offer. Having had period two and three with Christina they had talked enough to get to know each other some.

"Barbie, Bambi, Evil Spawn… Meredith Grey. Meredith… Barbie, Bambi, Evil Spawn." Christina said going around the table as she sat down. Meredith smiled at them sitting down beside Christina.

"Alex Kerev." 'Evil Spawn' said giving her a cocky smile.

"George O'Malley." 'Bambi' said shaking her hand.

"Izzie Stevens." 'Barbie' said glaring at Christina as she shook Meredith's hand. "I think you sit beside me in math now."

Meredith nodded smiling at her. "Yeah."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, blah, blah, blah. Can we move on from the whole meet and greet crap?"

Meredith giggled shaking her head as she popped the top to her salad.

"Where are you from?" Izzie asked ignoring Christina's groan.

"Seattle." Meredith answered looking up at her.

"The rainy city. Must suck." George commented.

"Nah, you get used to it I guess." Meredith shrugged.

"How are you getting settled in?" George asked.

"Okay, I guess."


	3. Conversations Of Sports

Meredith walked home. The day had become very overcast while she was in school. The remainder of the school day after lunch was uneventful. She found out that she would be sharing all her even day classes with Christina, two with Izzie, and one with George. On odd days, she had one with Christina, one with Izzie, all four with Alex, and two with George.

She climbed the stairs to her house and pushed the door open. Stepping into the house, she stopped looking around at the destruction that she was still trying to be accustom to coming home to. Looking around, she could hear the sound of a glass shattering on the floor.

"Where the hell were you?" He yelled.

"I was at school." She stammered slightly.

"Why the hell are you lying to me?" He yelled grabbing her by her hair. She winced coming up on her tiptoes to reduce the pain. "School let out at 2:45. You should have been home by 2:55. It's 3:15. Were you out with a boy? We've been in town for two weeks and you're already out with a boy." He dragged her in the kitchen. Broken glass scattered on the floor from a vase that her father must have thrown or dropped. "What have I told you about being a whore?" He said throwing her down onto the floor. "Clean this mess up." He said storming out.

She laid there as glass shards dug into her palms and side. Tears filled her eyes, but she refused to let them show. Sitting up, she brushed her hands off wincing in pain as blood rolled off her hands. She pulled herself from the floor, and looked around. Beer bottles flooded the recycling can. Papers were thrown around on the table and floors. She looked at the glass embedded in her hand and grabbed the broom and dustpan. Quickly, she swept the glass up and threw it away before reorganizing the papers so they were in piles on the table.

Finally, she was finished and hurried to her room before Thatcher could make her do something else. Shutting the bathroom door, she opened her medicine cabinet and took out her tweezers. She looked at her hand again that was still bleeding. She carefully removed the glass from her hand only shedding a couple of tears. Squatting down, she pulled out some gauze and bandaged her hand. The other wasn't bleeding as bad, so she didn't bother to bandage it.

Walking into her room, she fell back on her bed and looked up at the ceiling.

_Summer rolled around and Tommy and Laura were staying at their grandparents' house for the whole summer. She and her parents were leaving for California for a month the next day. Ellis just had to work her last shift and their family was off for a month in the sun. _

"Meredith get you're ass down here and make dinner!" He yelled banging on the wall.

She rolled off of the bed and walked down the stairs. Thatcher stood at the bottom fuming.

"When I call you, you come and you come fast."

"Yes, sir." She said quietly before walking into the kitchen. "What would you like for dinner?"

"I don't care."

She sighed. Whenever she chose what to make, it was never good enough for him. He would go off on her saying that she should know better than to make whatever she made. Then, as if just to mess with her, the next day he will say that he wanted whatever she had made the night before that he said that he didn't want. It was always one big circle that she didn't know how to end it.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next day, she stood in front of the mirror and loaded on the foundation to cover up the bruise on her cheek that she had gotten after dinner the night before. Pulling on a long sleeve shirt, she thanked the lord that it was still cold out, so there was good reason for her to wear long sleeves all the time. Looking at the fresh bandage around her hand, she let out a long sigh trying to think of a cover story. Grabbing her bag and books, she hurried down the stairs.

"I'm leaving." She yelled before hurrying out the door before he could protest anything.

Walking down the cold streets, she scanned the house as she walked by. Most of them were similar to her house in the way they were built. The same people waited at the corner and again, she didn't pay much attention to them as she walked across the intersection not far behind them.

She walked into the school and directly upstairs to her locker. She was shuffling with her books when someone came up behind her.

"What happened to your hand?" A voice came. She turned to see Izzie, George, and Alex standing there. She looked at her hand.

"I cut it on some glass. Not a big deal." She answered.

"That sucks." Alex said opening his locker.

"Thanks." She mumbled pulling out her books. Standing up, she kicked her locker shut and sighed. "Where are you guys headed?"

"I have to drop some stuff off at Mrs. Campton's class if you want to come." Izzie said.

Meredith shrugged. "Sure."

"I'll come too." Christina said coming up behind her. "I have to give her a project anyway."

"We don't need a life story, Yang." Alex said standing up.

"Shut it, Evil Spawn." Christina hissed.

"Come on, I would like to go before the bell." Izzie said stressing the 'before.'

"Okay, okay… Jeez, Barbie, wake up on the wrong side of the bed?" Christina said. Izzie rolled her eyes walking ahead a little. "She's just jealous."

"Of what?" Meredith giggled.

"Of me being the best." Christina said lightly hitting Izzie's butt with her foot as she walked. "Isn't that right, Barbie?"

"Not it's not." Izzie shot back turning around to walk backwards. "At least I'm not crushing on someone out of my league." She held smirk on her face.

"Oh, please. Like I do dating." Christina shot back.

"That's because you can't get anyone to date you, Yang." Alex said. Christina shot him a glare as they laughed.

"I'll get you, Kerev. Wait 'til chemistry. You'll have some chemical that will shrink you penis to the size of a grain of sand in your lap."

Meredith laughed.

"That is if you can find it. I doubt you've seen one." Izzie laughed hurrying ahead as Christina chased after her.

"I better go…" George said hurrying after them. "Do damage control." He yelled back as he disappeared around the corner.

Meredith giggled shaking her head. "Is this what it's always like?" She asked looking at Alex.

"Most of the time." He chuckled smirking at her.

"Hmm… I could get used to this."

They walked slowly down the hall. It wasn't to crowded for most people were downstairs in the cafeteria talking to their friends down there.

"So you're liking it here?"

"Here at Washington? Or here in New York?"

"Both." He shrugged.

She shrugged. "Still getting used to there being no rain. But I think I'm like Washington as much as someone can really like school."

He let out a short laugh. "I guess I could agree. Play any sports?"

"Soccer… Or at least I did."

"You did?"

"I mean, I didn't play on my school team last year."

"Why? Didn't make the team?" He asked raising an eyebrow.

"Me? Not make a team. No." He laughed as she shook her head. "Please I'm a soccer god."

Alex laughed. "Into yourself much?"

"Nope… Soccer is the one thing I've always had." She shrugged. "I have a right to claim it to myself."

He nodded shrugging. "So why didn't you do it last year?"

She stayed silent for a second. "Too busy I guess. Freshmen year and all." She lied.

"Oh…"

"Yeah… What about you? You look like the jock type…"

He laughed. "Yeah I guess you could say that."

"What do you play?"

"Football… I wrestle…. Soccer too, actually."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, we should practice someday."

"Yeah, maybe." She said shrugging. "Is that all superstar?"

"Baseball."

"How do you do soccer and baseball? I mean, they're both spring sports, right?"

"Yeah. I keep myself busy I guess."

"We're back." Izzie said.

"God you guys walk slow." Christina sighed.

_**------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**_

_**Just so you know, at this school, they go by a schedule where you have different classing depending on if the calendar date is odd or even. Like if it were the first you would have your odd numbered classes (periods one, three, five, and seven) and the next day on the second you would have your even numbered classes (periods two, four, six, and eight). Hope that makes sense. **_


	4. Gods Of Their Sport

"Hey." Meredith said joining the group at lunch with George not far behind her.

"What's up, Meredith?" Alex asked as she sat down.

"Nothing." She shrugged opening her salad. She watched as the group of people walked into the cafeteria and filled in a table. She recognized them as the kids who walked with her to school and a couple of them had classes with her. "Who are they?" She asked nodding at towards the group. They all turned to look.

"Ugh. Avoid them." Christina said shaking her head. Meredith gave her a confused look.

"That's Mark Sloan, Addison Montgomery, and Derek Shepherd and their posse. Sport stars, cheerleaders, and all around jerks." Izzie explained rolling her eyes in their direction.

"You don't want to get wrapped up in their shit." Alex said.

"Why aren't you over there with them? Since you're a sports star and all." Meredith said with an amused tone.

"I'm too good for them." Alex sighed, sitting back in his chair as if he were the best in the world. "I'm a superstar. Besides without me this group would be a bunch of geeks."

Christina, George, and Christina all took turns hitting him.

"But seriously, Derek Shepherd is like the best baseball player this school has ever seen." Izzie said in a low tone.

"He's lucky I don't play for this school. I'd kick his ass right out of captain. Last year, I struck him out which had cost him and the team the championship." Alex said.

"Stop trying to raise you ego. God knows, it's already too big to fit through a door." Christina said.

"You know you love me, Yang." Alex shot back causing Christina to roll her eyes.

"Will you guys shut up and let Izzie finish?" George said tired of Izzie whining to him about how they won't shut up long enough for her to talk.

"Go ahead, Izzie." Meredith giggled.

"Anyway, Addison Montgomery is like the goddess of all that is cheerleading. The whole squad practically worships the ground she walks on. It's pretty pathetic. Not to mention, she's like a soccer god to this school. Nobody dares to go against her. She's been captain ever since she was a six grader wiping eight grader's asses off the field and bringing home the championship."

"Well, she won't be the soccer god for long." Meredith said confidently.

"You play?" Izzie asked. Meredith nodded. "You any good?"

"Brought home the championship every year since I started playing the sport in first grade."

"You seem pretty confident, Meredith." George said. Meredith just nodded.

Soccer was the one thing that was her own. The one thing she could be confident about. When she was playing soccer, she felt on top of the world. The rest of her life might be out of balance to say the least, but soccer was the one thing her father couldn't take.

Izzie cleared her throat.

"Oh right, Izzie. Go ahead." Meredith laughed.

"Alright. Anyway, Mark Sloan is…"

"Let me guess a god of…" Meredith said.

"Football." Izzie answered. "He's team captain and best quarterback. He's also like a big player and has gone out or made out with every girl on the cheerleading squad except Addison. He also is into soccer. He's pretty good, but football is his big sport."

"Who's the boy's soccer superstar for the school?" Meredith asked.

"Here we go." Christina groaned.

"That would be me." Alex said with a cocky smile on his face. Meredith rolled her eyes.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

She walked into the class and took a seat where the teacher had told her to. Someone came and sat behind her. She glanced over at him as she picked a textbook off the ground. He was talking to the guy beside him unaware of anything else in the class room. He was definitely hot with perfect muscles and a perfect body. Turning herself back towards the front of the room, she shook the thoughts from her head.

The tardy bell rang and Mrs. Fame walked in ready to start class.

"Alright, class, time to begin. No more talking." She called out. But the two boys behind her continued to talk. "Mr. Sloan, Mr. Shepherd do you have something to add to class."

"No, ma'am." They said in unison.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

She got home from school that evening to find the house empty. With no word, no note, he picked up and left. It wasn't the first time he had down the same thing. In fact, not long after _that_ day, Thatcher picked up and left for two weeks only to come back with an alcohol addiction.

She walked around the house picking up all the clothes thrown around in the hallway and living room. After throwing them into the washing machine, she went back to the kitchen to finish making the macaroni and cheese that she would be eating that evening. She put some on her dish and sat down at the table.

The house was silent except the noise from the washing machine.


	5. Running Into Each Other

The door slammed. She could hear his hasty footsteps through the house and up the stairs. Clutching to the sheets, she wondered why he was home. Rolling onto her side, she pulled the blankets to her chin hoping to look asleep. The door opened and she held her breath.

"Where's my dinner?" He yelled storming into the room kicking the chair over. She glanced at the clock to find it reading two am.

"You weren't home and…" She started in a meek voice.

"And what?" He yelled pulling her up by the wrist. Wincing in pain she tried to yank it back. The smell of whiskey hung in his breath.

"I'll go make something for you." She said rubbing her eyes. Thatcher pushed her down throwing her off balance causing her to fall back off the bed. Pain throbbed through the back of her head as hot tears collected in the corner of her eyes.

"Make it fast." Thatcher growled before storming out.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hurrying up the front steps to George Washington, she clutched her books close her chest. Throwing the door open, she slowed her pace to a frantic walk as she turned the corner colliding right into somebody. The books slipped from her hands and smacked against the floor.

"Damn it." She mumbled. "Sorry. I wasn't paying attention."

"No, it's fine. It's probably my fault." The person said back bending down to help her pick up the books.

She looked at the person who she had walked into to find it to be Mark Sloan. After collecting all the books, they stood up. Giving her a cocky, make-you-melt smile, he held out the books in his hand.

"Thanks." She sighed taking the books and adding them to the stack in her arms.

"Your welcome."

Giving him one last smile, she hurried up the stairs not even noticing when he turned to watch her walk off.

"Mark, you coming? We're going to be late." Someone called.

He turned back to face his friends. All of them continued down the hall except one.

"Yeah, man. I'm coming." He called before hurrying to catch up.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

She slipped into her chair next to Christina in English class. Turning towards her, Christina raised an eyebrow.

"What?" Meredith asked looking at her friend.

"What happened to your wrist?"

She looked down at her arm to find that her sleeve had slipped up exposing the purplish brown hand-shaped wrapped around her wrist.

"I fell." She lied as she pulled her sleeve down. Christina gave her a suspicious look but dropped it as they began talking about another class.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

She walked into the cafeteria a little bit after the bell rang. Barely paying attention, she brushed past a couple people standing around a crowded table. After getting her lunch, she sat down with her friends and joined the conversation.

"Soccer condition starts next week. You going, Meredith?" Alex asked.

She shrugged. "I don't know. I might."

"Mer, you totally should." Izzie said.

"I don't know. I have to see if I have time."

"How long have you been playing?" George asked.

"I don't know. I guess summer between fifth and sixth grade. But I didn't play last year."

"Why not?" Izzie asked.

"Too busy, I guess." She lied.

"_Dad? Can you sign this?" She asked quietly. _

"_What the hell is it?" He snapped nearly dropping the beer in his hands. _

"_It's just soccer." She answered taking a step back. _

_He let out a bitter laugh. "Soccer? No. You're not playing soccer. You'll never touch another soccer ball if I can help it."_

"_But mom…"_

_Thatcher's eyes darkened. "Your mother left us."_

"_She would want me to keep playing." She said as tears rolled off her cheeks. The wounds were just too fresh to talk about her. _

_He grabbed the form and ripped it into four pieces. "I don't give a damn. You're going to stay around here from now on."_

"Meredith? Hello? Mer? Are you listening?" Izzie said waving her hands in front of his face.

"Ah, yeah. Sorry." She mumbled rubbing her eyes to keep the tears off her cheeks. "What were we talking about?"

She listened to her friends talk but no longer contributed to the conversation. Her mind was elsewhere.


	6. You Should Sign Up

She had been staring at the sheet for twenty minutes. She couldn't move. She was numb. Memories of the last time she smelt the fresh cut grass of a soccer field. The memory of the proud feeling she got as she walked to the middle of the field at the beginning of the game to meet the other team's captain.

_Her mother and father cheer happily as she bounced the ball from hand to hand with a satisfied smirk. For the third year in a row she had lead her team to the championship game. The opposing team had gone against them and failed twice before and came in third in the region the third year. But Meredith's team always came out on top. This year was a worry. They had to defend their title against the opposing team's newest player. She was quite a manly teenage girl with strong legs and wide shoulders. _

"_Ready for this, Grey?" The other team captain chuckled. _

"_Ready to see you lose." Meredith smiled at her._

"_Only in your dreams."_

"_Well, it seems my dreams have come true the last three years running. Now haven't they?" She smirked smugly. "What's you're ranking in the region now a days?" She leaned forward. "Number two isn't it."_

_The other girl smiled smugly. "That's all going to change today. The only thing you'll see is my ass today."_

"_While I'm kicking it?"_

"_If you can catch it."_

"_Alright, Ladies. Let's have a fair game." The official announced. _

"So are you going to sign up?" Alex asked coming up beside her.

"I don't know." She sighed.

"Conditioning starts soon."

She nodded. "I know."

"You should do it." Alex encouraged.

"You should." Someone's voice came. They both turned to see Addison Montgomery. Standing close behind her, Mark and Derek waited. Both were wearing running sweatpants with the school logo and the school boy's gym shirt. Addison wore the girls' version of their outfit from gym class. "As captain of the team. I can honestly say we're always looking for more players." She looked Meredith up and down. "Even second stringers." Her voice was filled with self-satisfaction

"Second string?" Meredith raised an eyebrow. "I may be small, but I know my way around a soccer field."

"We'll see about that." Addison said and grabbed the pen dangling from the clipboard. She wrote her name in big letters on one of the lines and smiled at Meredith holding out the pen at her.

Meredith rubbed her arm for a second before shaking her head. "I can't."

"Meredith, come on. You can do it." Alex encouraged.

Meredith shook her head again. "You don't understand. See you tomorrow." She turned and walked away.

Addison smiled triumphantly before turning and walking back to Mark and Derek. "Come on. Before Coach finds us not running."

Alex sighed wondering what the hell was wrong with Meredith.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

She latched the door quietly listening for her father's angry voice. But nothing echoed through the house. She walked deeper into the house, not wanting to call out. If he were asleep, he probably knew nothing about her being nearly a half an hour late. Climbing the stairs, she heard no movement in the dead silence. She peaked into her father's room to find him asleep in his bed. Sprawled out diagonally across the bed, he clutch a beer in one hand and something else in her other hand. As she got closer, she squinted to see what it was. His fingers moved in his sleep, and she caught a glimpse of the shimmering diamond ring. Staring at it for a few seconds, she reached up and ran her fingers over the caduceus medical symbol that hung from her necklace. Her mother wore it everyday. Now, Meredith wore it everyday.

Hot tears burned her eyes, as she kissed her father's cheek before turning and walking back into the hall. She shut the door quietly before going to her room. Her jaw quivered as she picked up one of her mother's magazines. Her mother stood on the cover with a smile on her face. The words 'Ellis Grey makes amazing discover' were printed beside her picture.

"Why'd you have to leave us, Mom?" She sobbed rubbing her hand over the picture as she collapsed on the bed.

"_When are we leaving?" She asked coming down the stairs dragging her suitcase behind her. _

_Thatcher laughed. "I told you a thousand times. As soon as your mother gets home."_

"_When will that be?" She smiled giggling lightly. _

"_I don't know." He looked at his watching. "Which should be any second now. She must have gotten held up in surgery."_

_Meredith sighed and walked to the couch. "As long as she gets here fast. I cannot wait for fun in the Californian sun!" _

_The door bell rang. Thatcher chuckled standing up. "Must be Louis. He's keeping our mail. Friendly little boy, but worried as your mother when you were born."_

_Meredith giggled. "Are you sure that wasn't you, Dad?"_

"_Hey, I'm offended."_

_She rolled her eyes and picked up a magazine as he opened the door. "Can I help you, officers?"_

"_Mr. Grey?" One asked._

_She dropped the magazine and sat up to listen. "Dad? Who is it?"_

"_I'll be right back, Mer." He called back before walking onto the porch. She stood up and walked to the window. She watched as the officers said a few words and Thatcher's hands flew to his mouth as he shook his head rapidly. The woman officer touched his shoulder for support. _


	7. Little Yellow Note

"Why didn't you sign up?" Alex asked as he followed her down the hall.

She shook her head. "You wouldn't understand."

"Try me."

She stopped and turned to him. "I just can't, Alex." She sighed. "I just can't. Now, are you coming? I don't want to be late to lunch."

"Yeah, I'm coming." He sighed giving up on 'project get-Meredith-to-do-soccer.'

"Hey." She said to her friends as she sat down.

"Hey." They all echoed back.

"Can you believe that project that Mr. Jenkins gave us?" Izzie groaned.

"No. It will take me forever." Meredith mumbled rubbing her temple. "I do not want to do that."

"I hear you." Izzie shook her head and looked up to see Addison walking their way. "Hey. Look." She nodded in Addison's direction.

They all looked, rolled their eyes, and turned back to their lunch pretending not to notice. When she stopped in front of their table, Izzie looked up with an obviously fake smile.

"Hey, Addison." She said. "What brings you to our table?"

"I'm not interested in making small talk, Stevens." She leaned over on the table, so she was looking dead at Meredith. She pursed her lips slightly, looked Meredith up and down, and gave her a smile. "I see you're still not signed up for soccer."

"Why do you care?" Meredith asked.

"Well, I want to see if you're as good as you say."

"I don't need to prove anything."

"Fine." She sighed standing up straight. "It's not like I even care." She turned on her heel and marched back to the table.

"Way to go, Mer." George laughed.

"What?" Meredith asked.

"Nobody's ever stood up to Satan." Christina laughed.

Meredith smiled.

"Come on, Mer. You got to play now." Izzie said. Alex shook his head telling her to stop talking about it, but it was too late.

"I can't. I'm sorry, but I really can't." She stood up. "I have to go."

Before they could say anything, she hurried away.

"What did I do?" Izzie asked looking at her friends for an answer.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

She sat in her room and sobbed. The clock flashed midnight and yet she sat on the floor in a ball of tears. Her body shook with sobs as she stared at the fresh bruises starting to set in on her shin where he had kicked her. His eyes had flashed with pure hate for an instant. Maybe it was for that reason that she cried. Her father only two years held her up on a pedestal, now… he hated her. She could see it. She felt it every time he hit her. And yet she took it sitting down. She still held hope that one day he would learn to forgive her mother. She still held onto hope that one day her father would return and replace the man he had become.

Dragging herself to her feet, she walked shakily to her closet and pulled a box off the top shelf. The corners were tattered and smashed in. Taking a deep breath, she sat on the bed and flipped the top open. The first things to catch her eyes were the trophies and metals that were stuffed into the box on top of a series of papers. Gulping hard, she lifted them out and set them beside her on the bed refusing to look at them. She shifted through pictures of her, her father when he was happy, and her mother. Frantically searching the box, she started to worry if it was missing. Letting out a sigh of relief, she picked up the small yellow note. Tears flooded her eyes again as she carefully unfolded the paper and looked at it. Written and neat letters diagonally across the small square were the three words she craved to hear over the last two years. She started to sob harder than before as she fell sideways on the bed holding the paper to her chest.

It was the last thing her mother wrote before she died in a hospital bed.

She threw it back in the box unable to think about it any longer.

"_I love you, Mer."_ It read.


	8. Sign Me Up

She stared at the soccer sign up list. A long day of school had ended and she had to get home to start her paper and make dinner. But she stood there just staring at the paper lost in her own thoughts.

"Would you sign up already?" Alex's voice came from behind her.

She turned as he lifted his shirt and wiped the sweat from his brow. Turning back towards the board she sighed. "What are you still doing here?"

"Boys soccer workouts started today." He explained. "So are you going to sign up?"

"No." She said shaking her head.

"Why? If you know you can beat Addison, what's the hesitation?"

She looked at him. "You would understand." She shook her head giving him a short smile.

"You scared you can't beat me? You should be." A voice came. They both turned to see who it was. Addison stood behind them with a cocky smile.

"Where are your followers, Montgomery?"

"They aren't my followers. They're my friends."

"I'm not worried about not beating you." Meredith sighed. "Why the hell are you so hell-bent on me trying out?"

Addison didn't answer.

"It's all about the power. The power you get from winning. Well you aren't getting the satisfaction from me." She looked at Alex. "I'll see you tomorrow, Alex."

"See you." Alex smiled as she turned to walk off.

"Bye." Addison said in a self-satisfied voice.

Meredith rolled her eyes and started to walk off. She stopped as she walked across the bridge that led to the steps. Glancing out the window, she watched as about ten guys did drills with soccer balls. She missed soccer so much. It was her sweet salvation from the world. And yet, her father seemed so consumed with hate to let her play.

She watched as they ran through routines with a small smile on her face.

Turning on her heel, she walked briskly back to the sign up board right past Addison. She picked up the pen and signed her name on the next blank spot.

Alex smiled with satisfaction as Addison's face fell a little. Meredith turned back to Addison.

"See you on the soccer field, Addison." She said in a fake voice. "Bye."

She turned and walked briskly away.

The satisfaction only lasted a few minutes. As she made her way home, she realized what she had done. She realized what she had gotten herself into.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

She sat silently at the other end of the kitchen table using her fork to push her food around the plate. Slowly, she let out a sigh and looked up at her father.

"Dad?"

He grunted.

"Would you ever let me tryout for soccer at school?"

He looked up with a fire blazing in his eye. "Don't you ever mention that sport again!" He yelled pushing the table some as he stood up.

"I'm sorry." She cried out as he grab a fist full of her hand and pulled her to her feet.

"Get out of here. I don't want to see your face." He snapped pushing her to the ground. She scrambled to her feet and hurried out. "Don't you ever mention that! Ever!"


	9. Dreaming Of The Pain

* * *

"_You'll do great, Mer." Her mother smiled as she fixed her daughter's hair for her finally soccer game of the season. _

"_Thanks, Mom." She sighed. " I just really need to beat them. I can't let the team down."_

"_You've done plenty for the team, Mer. Even if you lose, which you won't, you wouldn't be letting them down. You'd be human."_

"_If I win, will I not be human?" She joked giving her mother a smile. Ellis giggled. _

"_No. Whatever happens, I'm so proud of you."_

"_Thank you, Mom." She kissed her cheek. _

"_Ready to go make these guys wish they were never born."_

"_Always." She giggled following her mother to the car where her father was waiting. _

* * *

"_Meredith?" Thatcher came into the house. His face said it all. The heart break. The pain. _

_Meredith's eyes went from the police officers walking back to the patrol car to her father. "Where's Mom?"_

"_Meredith…"_

_Tears rolled off her cheeks. "Where's Mommy?" She yelled. _

_Sobs shook both of their bodies. "I don't know how to explain…"_

"_She can't be gone."_

"_She got in a car accident. There was nothing they could do."_

"_No. It… No! We were going to California. We… We were going to… NO! I can't be her." Thatcher collapsed to the ground. "No. I can't be." She kept screaming. "There has to be some sort of a mistake. She wouldn't leave us!"_

She jolted from her sleep. Her breathing was fast and uncontrollable. Beads of sweat rolled off her forehead. Flicking on the light, she looked around trying to get her breathing under control. It was a bad dream. A bad memory. That led to such a bad life.

* * *

She went to school that day like she always did. But something was different. Today was the first day of try-outs. The first day she would be lying to her father. That morning she had told him, she would be about an hour and a half late getting home from school because she had a project.

Walking up the stairs, she held her books close to her chest. She was worried that he would find out. Until the games actually started in a month, there was work-outs everyday, but it wasn't a big deal to miss them as long as you went to one a week from what she had heard. But once the games started she would have to stay late twice maybe three times a week. But she was determined to make her mother proud once more even if she wasn't around to say it.

She got to her locker and got the books she needed for her first class of the day.

"Hey." Alex's voice came from behind her.

"Hey." She smiled at him.

"What changed your mind yesterday?" He asked.

"I don't know. I miss it… a lot."

"Why were you so hesitant?"

"A lot of things are going on." She sighed.

"Whatever." He sighed. "I was going to go meet Izz. Want to come?"

She shrugged. "Sure."

They talked as they made there way to where a different set of lockers were.

"Hey, what are you doing over here?" Meredith asked.

"She's checking out 'McHottie." Alex rolled his eyes disgusted. "Why do I hang out with you?"

"Because you love us." Izzie said with a smirk. He rolled his eyes.

"Who's McHottie?" Meredith asked smirking.

"Bryant." She sighed nodding in the direction of a guy standing by the lockers. He had brown hair with bits of blonde through out it and nice brown eyes.

"Hmm… Pretty hot. I'll give him a seven."

"Seven? Seriously, Mer. Do you know no justice?"

Meredith rolled her eyes scanning the halls as she waited for Izzie to finish getting satisfaction from looking. Her eyes settled on Mark Sloan who was walking along side Derek.

"_Now that is a ten."_ She thought staring at Mark.

"Oh my god, Mer. What happened?"

"What happened what?" Meredith jumped pulling herself from her thoughts.

"What happen to your arm?" Izzie asked.

Meredith looked down and touched the black and blue bruise forming on her wrist. "Nothing. I just…fell." She answered lamely. It wasn't true, but she wasn't going to tell them where she really got it.

"Are you okay?" Alex asked.

"Yeah. I'm fine." She nodded giving them a smile. "We should probably go meet up with Christina."

"Yeah. Sounds good." Izzie nodded walking off still keeping her eyes on Bryant.


	10. Try Outs: Day One

She stood at her locker watching as students slowly made their way out of the hallways

She stood at her locker watching as students slowly made their way out of the hallways. They were all so engrossed in their conversations ready to get home. She let out a sigh rubbing her arm subconsciously forgetting all about the bruise and winced in pain as her hand brushed over it. Standing up, she pulled her bag over her shoulder and headed down the stairs.

"Hey, heading to try-outs?" Alex said falling into step with her.

"Yeah, I guess."

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"I better get to soccer work-outs, but good luck."

"Thanks, Alex. I'll see you later."

"Yeah, see you later." He called as she walked into the gym.

There were girls all across the gym. A few looked like they would never make the team. And some looked like the possible back-up team in case the main players got injured. And then there was a huge group of girls who were the ones who knew they were going to make the team. She walked to the back of the gym and set her bag down with everyone else's.

"I guess you decided to show." Addison said with a hand on her hip.

"I guess I did." She answered not looking to her as she made her way toward the locker room where other girls were walking in and out of. Addison followed. "Can I help you with something?"

"Since you're new here and everything, I'll be straight with you. I'm Addison Montgomery. I make this team win. And, now, I've heard a lot of crap that you think you can beat me. And if you're good then great cause some of the crap people bring to these games is… frankly, it's crap. But, let's get one thing straight, I am the best. Nobody can beat me." She stepped so she was directly in front of Meredith. "And if you think you can take this team away from me, you'll be making a fool out of yourself."

Meredith stared at her for a second before turning away and pulling off her jeans. "You say that now."

Addison stared at her in disbelief. Never before did someone have the nerve to speak up to her. But something was off about Meredith Grey. Something wasn't right with her, but she wasn't sure what. She stared at the other teen carefully before turning and briskly walking out.

Meredith let out a sigh of relief as she pulled on a pair of black sweatpants. Ever since her mother died, it was harder and harder for her to seem strong. She pulled her sweatshirt off and walked over to the mirror. Dark bruises covered her arms. Some were on their way to being healed while fresh ones replaced them. When she heard some girls walking in, she quickly pulled her sweatshirt on and zipped it up about halfway before walking out.

--

Couch Wren lectured about soccer for about ten minutes while the girls stood and listened. None of which Meredith listened to since she already knew the game in and out. Then Couch Wren sent them off running around the track and she recorded times. Meredith ended with the second fastest time for the mile right behind Addison by twenty-four seconds. Of course, Addison gave her a triumphant look and went to suck up to the coach. After all the girls had finished, they started doing drills.

Meredith was put in line right ahead of Addison.

Couch Wren blew her whistle, and the first girl kicked low and easily blocked by the guy's team goalie who had volunteered to help out. Meredith was next. The whistle blew and as if it was just her nature she kicked the ball to the left over the goalie's head into the goal. Without giving Addison a look, she ran to the back of the line and prepared for her second run through. Addison kicked the ball to the left lower than Meredith's kick, but still made it in. They repeated this ten times and neither missed one. The rest of the girls had missed at least one and had been told to sit out leaving only Meredith and Addison kicking.

"Getting tired yet, Grey." Addison asked with a slight pant.

"Nope." Meredith answered in the same breathing state.

"I could do this all night. You should just give up now."

"No way in hell." Meredith said as she drew her leg back and gave of hard kick against the ball.

"Alright, that's enough girls. It's obvious neither of you are going to miss any. We'll resume with try-outs tomorrow. Same time." Couch Wren instructed.


	11. It's My Life

"So how'd it go

"So how'd it go?" Alex asked once he caught up with Meredith's fast pace stride.

"We continue tomorrow." She answered.

"But did you kick Montgomery's ass?"

"I don't like to brag… but…" She joked with a smile. Alex chuckled.

"I better go before couch notices me gone. But I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yep… Bye."

Alex gave a short wave before jogging back in the opposite direction. She let her smile fall once she was sure he could no longer see her. The truth was, she didn't know if she wanted to be picked to be on the team. After all, it would be a whole season that she would have to spend coming up with lie after lie to why she could come home right after school. She wasn't sure she could pull it off. As she made her way across the parking lot, the reality of the whole situation hit her. What if her father did find out? What would the consequences then be?

But the more she thought about it on her walk home, soccer was a part of who she was. Her parents used to fully enjoy her soccer games. They never missed one. They were always on the sidelines cheering. Some of her fondest memories with her mother were at one of her soccer games. But that was a long time ago. Things had changed since then. She had changed. Her father had changed. And her mother was… gone.

By the time she opened the door to the house, she pushed any last remaining thought out of her head. Quietly, she shut the door, listening the latch click shut before turning back to the living room. Her father wasn't in sight. Making her way towards the kitchen, she heard the faint shuffling sound of his footsteps. Mentally preparing herself, she took a deep breath before walking into the room.

"Hi, Dad." She smiled at him. He glanced at her hardly noticing the forced smile that was plastered to his face. His eyes returned to the gun in his hands. "What are you doing?"

"Clean my gun." He slurred.

She watched him cautiously out of the corner of her eyes. It always scared her when he was drunk and had the gun out. Sighing, he laid the gun down on the table and returned his eyes to his daughter.

"Finish your project?" He asked.

She shook her head hoping he wouldn't catch onto the lie. "I have to stay after tomorrow too." He gave her a stiff nod. "Would you like dinner?" He nodded again. His fingers ran along the handle of his gun. "What would you like?"

As she searched the fridge, she heard the sound of the gun moving across the table. She cringed slightly as she waited for his answer.

"Spaghetti." He answered, and with that he was gone as was his gun.

--

He stood in the doorway to her bedroom watching her. With her even breathing, he could tell she was asleep hunched over her desk with a pen loosely in her hands. The muscles in his forehead tightened as he staggered into her room. Hitting the bed with his foot causing it to loudly thump against the floor, he grabbed the back of her hair. She let out a light cry of pain as he lifted her head out of the book that she had been using as a pillow.

"Weren't you supposed to do that at the library?" He growled gesturing the work. He pulled her by her hair to her feet and pushed her to the ground. Cowering back towards the wall, she looked up at her anger father hiding the pain that was coursing through her body from various spots. "Did you lie to me!?"

"No, this is for a different class." She said begging her father with her eyes not to strike her. "I promise. I wouldn't lie."

"Liar!" He yelled kicking her on the side in one swift motion. Tears started down her cheeks as she fell onto her side whimpering in pain. With that, he turned leaving her to wallow in her pain. The loud slamming of her door rang through the air. As the house fell quiet with only the sound of his footsteps down the stairs, everything only seemed to get louder. Half of her in that moment wanted to run. Half of her wanted to fight for her father. Bringing her hands to her ears, she hoped to muffle the sound of the fight going on in her own head. Once again, fresh tears made their way down her cheeks.

She lied there for twenty minutes before withdrawing her hands from her ears. Slowly, she pulled herself off the floor and made her way to her bed. She pulled up her shirt and sat on the edge of the bed studying the bruise on her side. Touching it light, she winced before letting her shirt fall to once again cover another bruise. Sniffling, she looked up in the mirror that sat across the room from her bed. Running her fingers through her hair, she could still remember what it was like when her mother was alive, and most nights they had family dinners and played cared games together. But that was so long ago. Now… this was her life, day in and day out.


	12. First Time Noticing

The next day was the second day of try outs

The next day was the second day of try outs. If she made the cut of the first days, she'd be back on the field today. She got up and headed to school the same time as always. Addison, Mark, and Derek were standing at the corner waiting to cross when she walked up. Their conversation obviously switched when they noticed her. Addison was not so unnoticeable pointing at her and whispering things not so quietly to the two guys. They both said a few things, but Meredith ignored them and played on her phone until the crosswalk light switch. She walked behind them with her head low. Her side was still radiating pain through out her body. She found it hard to breathe at times during her morning, but she knew that she had to ignore it.

She made it to her locker without seeing any of her friends but found Alex waiting for her beside her locker. She gave him a faint smile which he returned as he moved out of the way so she could open the locker door.

"Hey." She greeted.

"Hey." He responded.

"Ready for the try-outs?"

"If I made the cut."

"I'm sure you did." She knelt down to put her books into her locker wincing in pain. This didn't go unnoticed by her friend. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." She nodded with a forced smile.

"You sure?" He asked when he noticed a similar pained face when she stood up.

"Of course. Come on, let's go check the list. It's on the announcement board, right?"

"Yeah." He nodded walking along side her.

They found the board with a group crowded around it. Alex caught glance of it first.

"You made the cut." He informed her.

"Seriously?"

"Yeah."

"Yay!" She smiled widely.

Just as she was about to turn to leave, someone pushed their elbow out right into her side.

"Sorry." The girl apologized.

Meredith let out a little yelp of pain. Alex looked at her with concern. She walked out of the crowd hoping to hide the tears and pain on her face.

"Meredith, what's wrong?" She didn't say anything just cradled her side. He stared at her before pulling her further from the crowed and tried to move her hands away from where they were on her side.

"Alex." She said in a warning tone. He just stared at her as he pulled her hands away and lifted her shirt on her side. His eyes grew wide at what he saw. A large dark bluish-purple bruise covered a large proportion of her side. It was slightly swollen.

"Meredith." He said in a cautious tone still studying her bruise.

"Alex, let it be. It's really nothing." She tried to explain.

"Nothing? You're whole side looks like you were hit by a car."

She hurriedly searched for a story. She noticed Mark looking at her side as he walked by. She quickly pulled down her shirt. "I was… babysitting this little boy, and he hit me with a baseball bat by mistake."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah."

"Are you okay? You could have broken some ribs or something."

"No, I'm fine. It doesn't hurt that bad if I'm careful." She said pleasantly surprised he brought the story. It was a reasonable story. He didn't know that she hadn't ever had the time to baby-sit someone in her life.

"Are you going to be okay to play today?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine." She reassured as the bell rang. "I better get to class."

"Yeah. See you later."

She walked away feeling slightly relieved. Nobody could ever know. She didn't want anyone to know. She would get more and more used to the fact and except it as a way of life. He would eventually change and life will change as it always did. But for now, she was going to walk through life keeping people at a distance. They will never know.


	13. Try Outs: Day Two

She tried to forget the pain by the time the final bell rang. But as she walked to the gym to meet up with Coach Wren and the other girls, she could still feel the sting of her side every time she took a breath. When she pushed the door open, she noticed Addison talking to Mark and Derek not far from the door. The other girls stood in clusters chatting about whatever. Meredith set her things along the wall where all the others were and went to change.1She knew Addison was talking about her from the way she was nodding in her direction. She rolled her eyes and moved towards the locker room. It didn't take long for her to change, but she stood in front of the mirror for a long time before pulling on her sweatshirt. Grabbing her bag, she set it with her book bag.

"Grey." Addison said bitterly.

She looked up and saw her standing only three feet away with Derek and Mark at her side. "Montgomery."

"Ready to lose?"

Rolling her eyes, she self-consciously rubber her hand over her arms. "Aren't we supposed to be on the same team?"

"Not if I can help it?"

"Whatever. I don't want to get into this right now." She turned to walk off.

"I don't get it. Supposedly, you're the 'best.' Are you just scared that you'll get beat?"

"I don't have time for this." She rolled her eyes and followed the other girls out. Addison sighed quite annoyed.

"See you guys later." She told Derek and Mark.

"See you, Addi." They both said.

Couch Wren led them inside and dropped three balls on the ground beside her. She opened a bag and pulled out a handful of yellow jerseys that distinguished one team for another. She threw one at Meredith and half of the team. Each girl pulled them on and stood where she pointed. Those who didn't get the jerseys stood across from them.

"Alright, we're doing a mock game." Coach Wren announced clapping her hands together. "Meredith you're the captain of your team. Addison you're the captain of your team."

--

Her breathing was slightly harsh. Her side was throbbing with pain as if her lungs were about to explode through her skin. The coach called time after Addison got up on her team by a goal. Sighing, Meredith pulled her jersey over her head and ignored Addison's arrogant smirk. She quickly changed into the clothes she wore to school and walked out.

"The team will be posted tomorrow on the bulletin board." Coach Wren announced as Meredith walked out of the gym.

She didn't see Alex on her way out, so she got home within twenty minutes.

"Dad?" She called. "Dad?"

Her father didn't answer, so she searched the house. He was sprawled out on his bed. A bottle of whiskey tightly squeezed in his hands. Pictures and letters were strewn out on the bed. Some were drenched in alcohol as was the pillow laid halfway underneath his body. She walked over and studied his face. He was knocked out. She was sure of it.

Sighing, she picked up the box that had been haphazardly thrown on the floor. Walking around the bed, she swiped the papers off the bed and put the lid on top. Then she took the pillow out from under him and pried the bottle from her fingers. Setting the empty bottle and pillow onto the ground, she shifted his feet onto the bed, lifted his head, and set a new pillow underneath it. She got a new blanket from the linen closet and spread it on over top of him. After putting the box in the corner, she kissed her father's cheek, grabbed the bottle and old pillow, and walked out.

--

After vacuuming the each room on the main floor, doing the dishes, and taking the trash full of bottles outside, she started her homework. By ten o'clock that night, she went back to check on her father. He was still passed out where she had left him. She made a quick dinner and left it right inside her door. By the time she slipped into bed it was after midnight. She looked down at her side to see it swollen and bruised.

Sighing, she forced herself to sleep.


	14. Accident

"Hey, Mer

"_Hey, Mer." Alex called waving her over to the bulletin board. All the girls from try-outs were crowded around trying to see the list. She waved back and walked over. _

"_Hey." She greeted getting up on her tip-toes trying to see. When she realized she couldn't, she fell back on her heels with a sigh. "I can't see anything."_

"_Me neither." _

_Slowly, the group thinned out. Some girls walked away smiling. Others walked away grumbling. Standing in front of the board, she felt a mixture of worry and happiness. _

"_Congrats, Mer. Runner-up captain in your first year here." He applauded._

"_Thanks." She smiled. _

"_Captain still beats runner-up captain." Addison said smugly. _

"_Whatever." Meredith mumbled before turning to walk away._

"_Don't walk away from me, Grey." Addison called. "Nobody walks away from me."_

"_Oh look, I'm walking away from you." Meredith called back without stopping her stride. _

--

In the two weeks that passed since that day rumors had been going around the school. She was positive that Addison had been the one to start them, and to be honest, she wasn't that worried about them. She had other things to worry about like the twice a week mandatory soccer practices since Coach Wren and the coach from Lawrence High School had gotten territorial one night and decided that, if it was okay with their teams, they would have an off-the-record preseason game between the teams. This all meant more practice and more lies she had to tell her father. The game was in a week, and Addison had become crueler than ever in her rumor spreading. Meredith ignored them the best she could, but often times had actually seen her or Mark or Derek talking about her to their "all star" posse.

--

She walked down the street staring down at her phone. Her fingers moved across the keys at a swift pace as she sent a text message to Mark about some plans they had made. Stopping at the crosswalk, she glanced down the street and headed across paying no attention to the red hand on the signal. She was halfway through the intersection when she heard a horn blare. Before she had a second to react, she felt her legs pushed out from under her. Her body jolted forward as her head slammed against metal with a loud thump. Then everything went black.

--

Meredith woke up and got ready for school the way she always did spending extra time to cover the handprint on her cheek. After the time Alex noticed something was up, she spent extra time fixing her appearance in the morning. She went downstairs to find her father passed out on the couch as he was often times in the morning. Walking past him, she planted a kiss on his cheek, gathered her things, and left.

She got to school and something seemed off. It was confirmed that something was going on, when Coach Wren approached her before the bell rang.

"Good morning, Meredith."

"Good morning, Coach."

"I'm sure you heard about Addison."

"No, did something happen?" She asked.

"She was hit by a car last night, so I need you to fill in as captain."

"Uh, yeah, sure. Is she alright?"

"Yeah, she'll be okay. Thanks for stepping up and everything, Meredith."

Nodding, she watched Coach Wren walked away.

--

**Sorry that it was so short. And people are wondering why there isn't a lot of MerMark yet. Coming up soon you're see it coming up soon.**


End file.
